Whether your March annexe needs full planning permission depends on how it’s built and how it’s genuinely used, mobile and ancillary can mean a much simpler route than permanent and self-contained. We check this properly from the outset.
Get Your Free Route CheckA granny annexe in March can follow three genuinely different routes. A structure that meets the legal definition of a caravan under the Caravan Sites Act 1968, capable of being moved by road in one or two sections and within maximum dimensions of 20 metres by 6.8 metres with an internal height of 3.05 metres, can often be sited without planning permission provided it remains ancillary to the house.
An outbuilding used incidentally to the enjoyment of the house, a home office, gym, or storage, can fall under Class E permitted development, but the moment it includes genuine sleeping accommodation used independently, it’s no longer considered incidental, and permitted development stops applying.
Where neither route fits, a full planning application is the reality for March properties, and we confirm this honestly rather than assume. A March annexe needing full planning permission usually needs both, our Building Regulations drawings in March service covers the technical compliance side, and our structural calculations in March service covers the engineering detail.
Caravan Act, permitted development, or full planning
Movable structures that may need no permission at all
Permitted development limits checked properly
Applications built to be approved
We begin every March annexe project with an honest assessment of the actual plans, size, mobility, and intended use, before any design work begins.
Where the Caravan Act or permitted development genuinely applies to your March project, we confirm that properly, usually via a Lawful Development Certificate, rather than defaulting to a full application that isn’t needed.
Where genuine self-containment means a full application is required, we build that around what March’s council specifically expects to see.
We tell March families honestly whether their annexe genuinely qualifies for the Caravan Act or permitted development routes, rather than defaulting every enquiry to a full application.
Getting the self-containment question right matters more than almost anything else for a March annexe, and we assess this honestly rather than assume either way.
Structural and building regulations detail is built into every March annexe project from the start, whichever planning route applies. If you need help with a granny annexe, give us a call on 0330 133 5316 or fill in the form below.
This genuinely depends on your specific plans for March, we check whether the structure is mobile, incidental, or self-contained before advising either way.
The Caravan Sites Act 1968 sets the limits, 20 metres long, 6.8 metres wide, 3.05 metres internal height, and the structure must be moveable by road in one or two sections, we check whether your March plans genuinely meet this.
It depends on genuine use, an incidental March outbuilding can qualify under Class E, but introducing real sleeping accommodation used independently takes it outside permitted development regardless of size.
Genuine independence is the test in March, if the annexe could function as a separate home on its own, full planning permission is almost always the realistic route.
Strongly recommended for March annexes, an assumption that a structure qualifies isn’t the same as formal confirmation, and a Lawful Development Certificate closes that gap.
Yes, we coordinate every part of a March annexe project, from establishing the correct route through to building regulations sign-off, so nothing falls through the gap.